


Astoria

by oracleOutlook



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Marichat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 06:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5364062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oracleOutlook/pseuds/oracleOutlook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette cared deeply for Chat Noir.  Then the worst possible thing happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Astoria

Marinette did not know how it started. Sure, she had interacted with Chat Noir as Marinette a few times, but she had not expected that it would be enough to form any kind of friendship between the superhero and the baker’s daughter.

She had not accounted for how lonely Chat Noir was.

The first time he had shown up on her roof she was night-time gardening. The last few weeks had been busy between Akumas and schoolwork. Now the only time she had available to look at her plants was after sunset.

Chat Noir swooped down into her garden.

“Chat Noir! What a surprise,” Marinette said.

He provided her with a big toothy grin. “The protector of Paris always has time to admire such beautiful flowers.”

“So, Paris is safe?” Marinette felt a little guilty over skipping patrol that evening. If Chat Noir had enough spare time to come talk to a random civilian, though, everything must be slow.

“Paris is safe,” he confirmed.

They talked a little. Marinette told him how busy school had been recently and all the design contests she was entering. Chat gave her a blow-by-blow account of his latest escapade with Ladybug. After a few minutes, Chat went back on his way.

The meeting would not have been all that noteworthy if it had not happened again, a few days later. And then again, and again. They started to become friends – which was silly, because they were already friends. But only Marinette knew.

Maybe Chat could sense that existing connection, because as time went on his visits grew longer and longer. They started talking about heavier stuff. Both heroes were cautions of their secret but they shared everything else. Marinette talked about the pressures of helping out in the bakery, and Chat acted like he understood. Chat spoke of his loneliness, of empty chairs and empty tables, and Marinette could not understand, not really, but she felt for him.

They were friends in a way that Ladybug and Chat Noir could not be, but Marinette was glad that she could be there for her partner in this way.

Their first kiss was the one thing that was truly unexpected.

Marinette and Chat Noir had reached a comfortable pause in a conversation about the difficulties of baking cakes. As though in a dream, Marinette realized that their heads were just a little too close together. Her eyes gazed into his for far longer than was polite. Right when she was about to blush and look away, his lips landed on hers and she forgot everything else.

Chat Noir broke the kiss. “Marinette, I’m sorry. I just- sorry. I should have asked. That wasn’t okay.”

No, it was not okay. Marinette loved Adrien, the sweet, beautiful boy that sat in front of her in class. Chat Noir was so different from Adrien.   Chat was so open, playful, selfless - and so much her friend. That last thing did not apply to Adrien, no matter how badly she wanted it to.   She could never work up the courage to sit and talk with him like she could with Chat.

And no, it was certainly not okay, but Marinette could not help but think about how Chat’s hair was similar in length and color to Adrien’s. And his jaw line looked almost like Adrien’s, if she didn’t look too closely.  

And so no, none of this was at all okay, but Marinette leaned forward and kissed him back.

Eventually the evening grew late. With great reluctance Marinette informed him that she should head back down to her room and get some sleep.

The next evening Chat Noir did not manifest. Marinette’s stomach curled up inside her with anxiety. Had she lost one of her most important friends? She had been so stupid!

The evening after that Chat Noir showed up on her roof with flowers in hand and an apology on his lips.

“Real life got the better of me. But fear not, this knight will always return to his princess.” He knelt and kissed her hand, like she was Ladybug.

In the back of her mind there was a small voice telling her that she needed to end all deception, that this was not fair to Chat or her. She did her best to ignore it.

They sat down on her garden bench and conversed like normal. But nothing was normal now. Before, they had been content to talk about their lives and dreams. Now it all felt like a prelude to another make out. It was moving towards them with the same surety that the ground approached a skydiver.

Marinette started it this time, running her fingers through his hair that was so much like Adrien’s and gently pulling his head down into a kiss. Fire pooled in her stomach as Chat traced his hands up her back. She lined his jaw with kisses and he said her name, his voice soft and low.

She closed her eyes and gripped his shoulders as he kissed down her neck. No thoughts remained in her. There were just his hands, his lips, and his back under her fingertips. Without thinking, she murmured his name.

“Adrien.”

Chat froze as still as a statue and Marinette realized what she had said. She used the wrong name for the wrong boy and now everything was over. She wanted to curl into a ball. She needed to run down to her room, lock the latch, and never return to the roof.

She owed Chat an explanation first.

 

* * *

 

Adrien was frozen in shock. How had she learned his identity? Why did she not tell him when she found out?

This was unexpected. Not entirely unwelcome, but it was not something that he had wanted to happen.

Marinette’s face was flushed red. She scooted back half a meter and Adrien was startled to feel the rush of cold her departure had left him.

“I- I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me,” she said, wrapping her hands around her elbows and hunching over.

“I don’t hate you.” Adrien was mostly just confused. “Can you just tell me what happened?”

“There’s this guy at my school - Adrien. I’ve had a crush on him for forever. But I really like you, too! I want nothing more than to be your friend. I don’t know why I said his name. I’m so sorry.” Marinette curled even further into herself and she kept her eyes on the floor, like it might graciously choose to swallow her.

Adrien did not know how to feel about this revelation. There was nothing in his father’s etiquette lessons that described how to proceed when a girl said someone else’s name when making out. The fact that it was - in actuality - his own name, just made it more confusing. Nothing prepared him for this, so he did the first thing he could think of.

He jumped off the roof.

He heard Marinette run to the edge of her roof, but Adrien was already racing back home as fast as possible. Entering through the window, he released the transformation and collapsed into his bed.

Plagg went straight for the cheese, leaving Adrien alone with his thoughts.

Marinette was such a good girl. She was always there for her friends and classmates, ready to defend them or cheer them up. Yes, she could be painfully shy, but give her a problem to focus on and she transformed into someone else, someone who was selflessly focused on helping others.

She was no Ladybug, but Adrien had found that he did not need her to be Ladybug.   He was starting to fall for her anyways.

Now this. How could someone so kind and thoughtful do something so thoughtless? He thought she liked him!

This is what he deserved for entertaining feelings for someone besides his Lady.

“I don’t know why you’re so upset,” Plagg said. He had finished with his cheese and now floated above Adrien’s head.

“She doesn’t like Chat Noir at all. She likes Adrien.”

“That’s not what she said. Besides, you are missing something very important.”

“What?” the boy asked.

“Chat Noir is Adrien. Adrien is Chat Noir.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. You both look the same-”

“I don’t want someone who’s only interested in my appearance.” Or for his money, or for his fame. How could he be certain that someone was not just using him, when he was Adrien Agreste? The only solution he thought he had found was to be Chat Noir when interacting with the girls he liked.

That had backfired stupendously.

“You both act the same,” Plagg continued as though he had not been interrupted.

“I do not,” Adrien said.

“You talk more and make funnier faces as Chat Noir, but Chat Noir only ever does what Adrien Agreste would do.”

Adrien paused. It was really hard to argue with that.

“Face it. You’re jealous of yourself.”

What if Marinette did love him, both sides of him? Maybe she had subconsciously realized that he was the same person, and that is why she had said his name. The thought made his toes curl.

After all this, he still loved her.

He was not being fair with her, he realized. He interacted with her as both Adrien and Chat Noir, and she cared for both of them. It was great news. The best thing that could have possibly happened. But it was also so terribly confusing for the both of them.

“I have to tell her,” Adrien said.

“Tell her what?” Plagg asked.

“That I’m Chat Noir.”

“Didn’t you promise Ladybug that you wouldn’t give away your secret identity?”

“I promised Ladybug that I wouldn’t tell _her_ my secret identity. I can tell Marinette without breaking my promise.”

“Do you think you can trust her with your secret?”

Adrien pondered the question. He sat in front of her in class, and he had never heard her breathe a word about Chat Noir visiting her to Alya. Alya was her best friend and was always searching for a new piece of gossip about Chat Noir and Ladybug to put on her blog. If Marinette had kept the details of their meetings from Alya without Adrien even having to ask, then he thought that she would keep even this from the rest of the world.

Despite the night’s events, Adrien found himself trusting her.

“I’m going to try.”

The next day at school, it took all of Adrien’s willpower to not blurt out his secret to Marinette in front of the whole class. More than anything he wanted to get all his secrets out in the open and start fresh with the girl. He felt energized and focused.

Marinette, however, was even quieter than usual. Alya asked her if everything was alright, but Marinette just shook her head and said nothing.

On the one hand, Adrien was worried about his friend. On the other, he was relieved to see signs that she was as torn up about the events of last night as he was.

He hoped that did not make him a terrible person.

Night finally fell after a long day of school, fencing, and homework. Chat Noir made his way back to Marinette’s roof. She was not on the roof yet, which happened sometimes. Adrien knocked on the hatch that lead to her room.

His princess opened the hatch.

“Chat? You came back?”

“Of course I did. Nothing could keep me away.”

Marinette started moving out of the hatch, but Adrien stopped her. “Actually, I was hoping that we could talk inside your room today. There’s something I need to show you.”

Marinette blushed, but went back down her ladder. “It should be okay. My parents are out on a date.”

Adrien followed her down and took in the sights of her room.

Wow. She had more pictures of him than his own father. Not that that was too difficult, just… wow.

“I take it you had a crush on Adrien before you met me,” he said.

“Yeah. When I first heard that he was coming to our school I was worried that he’d be stuck up, like another girl in our class. But he was really sincere. He’s a good person.” Marinette froze. “I’m sorry, you don’t want to hear me talking about him.”

“I think I do.” Adrien was still investigating the room. She had bits and pieces of half-finished clothes lying on a table. A beautiful dress, finished or nearly-complete, hung from a dummy. She had good taste.

“Well, he’s a lot like you, in a way. He’s a lot more reserved. Not shy, really, just quiet. But he cares about people.” Marinette leaned forward conspiratorially.

“And, I think he’s a Chat Noir fan.”

“Really?” It took all of Adrien’s self-control to not laugh.

“Yeah. After we met up for that Akuma, the Evillustrator, he asked me all about you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing but good things.”

As far as Adrien recalled, she had told him that Chat Noir was awesome, but not as awesome as Adrien himself. He hadn’t really paid attention to her answer, a fact which he was now regretting dearly.  

She had told him.

“Are you still mad about last night?” Marinette asked.

“I’m not angry. I was confused for a while, but I’m not mad.”

“So we can still be friends?”

“I hope we will be, and more.”

Marinette blushed and looked down. “You said you had something to show me?”

“Yes.” Adrien’s heart was hammering. After this there was no going back.

He released his transformation.

When the light faded from his eyes, he looked to Marinette in anticipation. How would she react? Was she shocked? Angry? Glad? He hoped so badly that she would be glad that the deception was over.

He had not expected her to cover her eyes.

“Chat! You can’t just tell me who you are.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a superhero! I could be a liability.”

“Are you a liability, princess?”

“No! I mean, that’s beside the point.”

Chat moved directly in front of her.

“The point is, I trust you,” he said softly. He gently held her wrists with each hand and lifted them away. She did not resist. Her eyes opened and she saw him.

She jumped. “Adrien!”

“Hi.”

“You’re Chat Noir?”

“Yep.”

Marinette sat on her bed. “But you can’t be Chat Noir,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because- but I-,” she started sounding more and more furious. This was the Marinette Adrien had first noticed. The one who, when presented with a problem, grew a fire inside her that no one could control.

Adrien was somewhat concerned that the problem she was determined to solve was him.

“Argh! This is just ridiculous!” She beat her hands against her covers and stood.

In a clear voice, she said, “Tikki, Transform!”

There was a brief glow, and then his Lady stood before him.

Adrien sat on the floor.

“Adrien, can you talk to me, please?” Ladybug asked.

There was nothing to say. This outcome went beyond his wildest dreams. This was great, his mind told him. The two people he loved were actually the same person. That made things simpler.

But his heart was somewhere far, far away, and was not providing any input. What was there to say?

There was only one thing he knew, on a level deeper than thought and emotion. There was only one thing to say.

“I love you.”

The rest could be sorted out later.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I had told myself that I wouldn't write this, but I had to get the idea out of my head. As such, I didn't really give the idea of Marinette saying Adrien's name during a Marichat makeout the attention it deserved, so if anyone wants to borrow the idea for a spin I'd be honored. 
> 
> The title is a reference to a Marianas Trench album.


End file.
